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Smart Car

Ann Job should be writing on a car found in Canada and Europe called the "Smart Car". The car is produced in conjunction with Mercedes Benz and has been around for several years. The big question is Why not in the USA. Zap motors has 200 ready to be sold in the USA and is just waiting for Government approval. I have seen and driven one here in the States and I would buy one maybe two tomorrow if they were a vailable here. Well built and safe. Yes they are small but comfortable. My fried has one and drove from Quebec to Key West, Key West to Melborne with several side trips. On arrival in Melborne she reached $100 in fuel costs. The thing got 81 miles per gallon of Diesal. This needs to be investagated as to what is the holdup on selling these cars in America. Jim Edwards

The Echo doesn't get 81mpg. Also, there is a four seat four door version called "forfour". www.smart.com

Perhaps but in Canada we only get the 2-seat version which incidentally does not get 81 mpg either. It gets 62 mpg (US), 75 mpg (Imperial) or 3.8 L/100 km, on the highway.

A Yaris (which replaces the Echo) is cheaper, has 5 seats and a useful trunk, and consumes 5.5 L/100 km on the highway which is reasonably frugal for a non-hybrid gasoline car. Most people would have to drive a lot of mileage to make up the price difference with a Smart (and factor in needing a second car if you have a family; a Yaris with a transit pass may be a better choice for a young family, than a Smart and a second car with a rear seat).

For the average driver, the Yaris is probably a better and more practical choice for someone looking for cheap reliable transportation, plus it has Toyota build quality.

The Honda Fit is also a good choice but I'm disappointed in the fuel economy numbers, my 3500 lb Passat TDI gets the same highway mileage (Fit is between 5.6 and 5.8 depending on version, my Passat is rated at 5.7 and regularly exceeds that)!

SMART Fortwo

Apparently you people donít keep up with the auto world. The SMART Fortwo will be for sale in the US beginning in í08. The advertised price will be around 15K for the plain Jane and 18K for the Cabriolet. That being said we can only hope this will give the big three a real kick in their rears to build a comparable set of wheels, we shall see? I have been very disappointed in the efforts from the big 3 to make an effort to build something other than a SUV (Stupid Ugly Vehicle) and get back to doing some invented design work. When my son was a teenager we built a red í65 VW bug that would out accelerate most big motorcycles. I have to admit we had help from a bug genius, however it was a bug with a bug motor and tyranny, it just had a few mods. Having a small car that handles with good power and gas mileage is not just possible it is doable with current technology.
Most small cars can give good mileage and performance if tune properly and a few mods to the suspension. When gas goes to three bucks a gallon or more the big SUVs will be a pain to own. I sold my 4X4 years ago and havenít missed it. Iím also smart enough not to live miles from my work either. spaceman out!

I was in Germany in late 2006 and saw lots of smart cars, most interstingly though is that they had a low 2 door sport version that actually looked pretty cool. Sort of "Honda Civic DelSol" like or something. We don't have that version here in Canada but I think it would be a fantastic entry into the North American market. Very sale-able IMO.